Crafty Elements

Yesterday I posted a red hat that I decided was too small or "not slouchy enough". So...I pulled it apart, added more, and now it sits weird. But I will not give up! I will win! Here it is pulled apart. I cut the double crochets and tied them individually so it would not unravel. I then added 2 more rows of double crochet to the circular part (left pic). I tied it off and single crocheted the two pieces together. However, it is tighter where I single crocheted it, so it sits funny on my head. I think I may pull it apart again and just continue where I left off at the circle and use the other piece as something else...a headband maybe? *sigh* So it was a late dinner....didn't have much around the house because I didn't feel like grocery shopping today. I had a box of pasta and a bag of frozen broccoli....what do I do with that? After consulting both Betty Crocker and google, I found this recipe: http://www.ivu.org/recipes/pasta/spaghetti-and.html Since it sa...

I found my camera charger! What does this mean? A much happier Stephi and pictures for you :) Some of the crafts are much harder to describe without them. So...lets get down to business. First of all, I just randomly threw together Hershey's Hot Fudge Pudding Cake, and it smells so yummy, I can't wait! This is a very easy recipe but a little tricky, so I highly suggest that you give the directions a once-over before you make it. It really turns out pudding-like, and who could go wrong with chocolate anyways? http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Hersheys--Hot-Fudge-Pudding-Cake/Detail.aspx Ps. It amazing with vanilla ice cream fresh out of the oven! I also made a hat today....seems weird in the middle of the summer, right? I would deem it one of those, throw-it-on-when-my-hair-looks-like-crap hats :) That and it's comfy too. I modified it a little since the main reason I don't like crocheting in the round is because when I single crochet, I always lose where I started e...

I haven't posted in a while because I cannot find the charger for my camera....it was there one minute and gone the next. I've reconstructed a shirt, finished the scarf (yey!), have come up with an present for xmas (yes, it's early) for my relatives, made soup, and probably more. With so many things done, hopefully I will find the charger so you guys can see what I'm doing! I made chicken dumpling soup yesterday...I was told it was good...so here's the recipe 2 Chicken Breasts 8 c. water 7 Boullion Cubes 2-3 Carrots 2-3 Stalks of Celery 1 Onion 2 Cloves Garlic 3-4 T. Parsley Dumplings Boil the chicken until done...probably about 20-30 minutes. Cut up into pieces and put in pot. Add remaining ingredients and simmer for about 20 minutes. I don't have exact measurements because I just threw it together. As a rule of thumb, I use the same amount of both celery and carrots. I will include the recipe for dumplings, as I actually made them from leftover pierogie...

I haven't had a lot of time lately to do much crafting, but should have more time next week, YEY! I did get a chance to work on the diamond scarf I started last week (or was it earlier this week?). Anyways, I had a lot of time to work on it yesterday. In the picture, it is partially folded over, where the pocket on the end is going to be. I have also been searching for ornaments to crochet. I've looked at CPC but haven't found anything that I really liked that was semi-easy. Does anyone have any ideas?

I'm obviously a craft nut, and have tons of things that I want to do, multiple things I've started, some which I have forgotten about. After finally giving in and reorganizing my yarns and fabrics, I found a scarf that I had made out of really soft, fuzzy yarn. However, it was a plain cream color...key word... was . I decided to add some really cute flowers on it. I got the idea for the pattern from the Pillow Trio with Flowers pattern on Lion Brand's website. I did 5 petals instead of 6 and I made the flowers all one color. I also place the flowers differently on either side to add interest. My next project was dinner. Let me start out by saying, yes, I consider myself a vegetarian, although I do eat fish once in a blue moon and I don't particularly eating it that much because it was a living animal. I also eat it for the protein but will probably take it completely out of my diet, especially because it keeps grossing me out when I think about it. Anyways, I fo...

I've been really busy this past week....parents' anniversary, apartment inspection....busy, busy, busy! However I still have been crafting :) I made a dozen red roses to complement their 'date basket'. The hardest thing about the roses was putting together the tops, but after that, it was easy! The 'date basket' consisted of - wine - bagette - vegetable seasoning ( http://www.cooks.com/rec/view/ 0,1725,144173-250194,00.html ) - skillet lasagna in a jar ( http://www.thatsmyhome.com/ general/lasagna-mix.htm ) - a dozen red crochet roses - a gift certificate from Blockbuster for a movie - popcorn & other movie munchies (I got some ideas from this website as to what to include, but I thought of the idea before I found this: http://www.thatsmyhome.com/ general/movie.htm ) You can probably make a basket for almost any occasion, just think outside the box...or the basket! Another project I have been working on is a dress made from one of my shirts that doesn...

I forgot to post a blog yesterday. Our snuggle bag...which is a huge 5' in diameter bag filled with foam needed to be cleaning. It is a major project in itself :-/ Now...on to the good stuff! I made some quick and dirty "stir fry" yesterday, and it was pretty good, but not really stir fry by definition. 3 Packs Ramen without the seasoning 1/2 bag of frozen veggies 3 oz. stir fry sauce Boil ramen according to directions (3 min.) Throw in veggies until it boils again. Drain, and add stir fry sauce. This recipe only takes about 15 mins to make, the longest part is waiting for the water to boil. I also found a henna kit I had purchased a couple months ago...so I went to work! I bought it at Michael's, but I'm not sure I would recommend getting the same one. The henna dyed my skin fairly well, but it did not make a lot. Not really worth the $15 they sell it for (I got mine half price because they had a special going on). You can probably get henna at a healt...

Been really busy all day today....and it's a scorcher (hot weather = not a whole lot of craftiness). I did make some awesome bean salad today, although I don't remember where I got the recipe on the internet: 3 cans beans, rinsed and drained 2 stalks celery, chopped 1/2 onion, chopped 1 c. fresh parsley, chopped 1 T. fresh rosemary, chopped 1/3 c. vinegar 1/3 c. sugar 1/4 c. olive oil 1 1/2 t. salt 1/4 t. pepper Mix vinegar, sugar, olive oil, salt and pepper together until sugar is dissolved. Add remaining ingredients. Let sit so the beans soak up the flavoring. This is a quick, easy recipe that's good for summer time :). Usually I don't wait to eat it, and I use either cilantro or dried parsley in place of the parsley (2 T. Fresh = 2 t. dried).

I've been periodically talking about all the earrings I make. I have hundreds of beads, and a practically an unlimited supply of gadgets to take apart. What if you don't have any beads or gadgets you want to destroy? Fear not! Look no further than your boyfriend's, husband's, or even your own toolbox! Metal or rubber washers, nuts, wire, springs, resisters, etc. Anything goes, be creative, plus he'll probably never miss it :) I found the easiest white cake recipe ever. http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Simple-White-Cake/Detail.aspx You can use different extracts instead of just vanilla to give it a different flavor. I added lemon zest to mine (about 1 1/2 t.) and it turned out very well. I also used soymilk instead of regular milk. This cake is extremely moist and I have even found that you don't even need frosting for it, just use a sprinkling of powdered sugar or sprinkle colored sugar on it before you put it in the oven. You could probably even add frui...

I was in charge of dinner tonight....what do I make with left over pasta? All I have to do is make sauce! I dug through my magic book for a recipe that I've had for at least 2 years and am not sure where I picked it up. 2 T. Butter 2 T. Flour 1 c. milk 1/4 t. salt Heat butter and flour in a saucepan until butter is melted. Add milk and cook on medium heat until sauce thickens. This is an awesome do-whatever-you-want-with-it basic sauce recipe. You can leave it plain, or you can add veggies, shrimp, chicken, boullion, or spices. It can be served over pasta, rice, etc. Tonight I doubled the recipe, added onions and let it cook for a while so the onions weren't crunchy anymore. I add garlic pepper (of course), and dumped in about 1/2 a bag of frozen veggies. I cooked it until it boiled (which meant the veggies are done) and ta-da! Dinner in a 1/2 hour with leftovers! I could have also used it as a filling to a vegetable pot pie...which I will probably do at a later point...

I found a cute pattern for shoes on Craftster.org (http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=35344.0) so I figured that I would give it a shot. I didn't get off to a good start though....I tried to follow the directions for the pattern, but when I blew up the image, it was still to small. Instead of fiddling with it and printing out a million copies (slight exaggeration, lol) I took a shoe I already had, traced it, and made it into a more rounded shape. I then used the long skinny piece as a guideline (I decided that it was a little over half of the width of the thickest part of the shoe) and just followed along the same curves. In the original directions, it says to pin at the very middle of the toe and sew down both sides toward the heel. I ended up pinning the whole thing as I was not very good at doing it the suggested way. Here's the end result: I used brown corderoy and you can't see it, but I used this 60's powder blue vinyl that I have had for at leas...

I made calzones tonight...super yummy! I got the idea off of this website: http://www.craftster.org/forum/index.php?topic=253417.0 However, I use my own pizza crust recipe instead of store bought dough. Experiment with what you would like in your calzone....tonight was broccoli, cheese, onions. I also make my own marinara sauce because I almost always have canned tomato sauce or diced tomatoes. Add Italian seasoning, salt, sugar, and most importantly garlic powder (I say that because I LOVE garlic :)) I don't have measurements for these since it depends on how much sauce I make. You will need more Italian seasoning and garlic powder than salt and sugar. If you don't have Italian seasoning use a mix of oregano, basil, rosemary, etc. I also made fingerless gloves....seems slightly out of se ason, but winter will be here before you know it! I used the same 2 1/2" loom and made 4 strips of 15 stitches each. Single crochet the 4 strips side by side (you will have a rect...

I made this awesome Thai food that I got off PETA's (People for ethical treatment of animals) website. I highly suggest this website not only for the information it provides, but for it's great recipes too! http://www.vegcooking.com/recipeshow.asp?RequestID=816&Search=spiral It sounds really funky but tastes really good, and it made of ingredients most people have around the house....nice and simple :) Although when I make it I always add about a 1/2 t. more of both ginger and cumin, but make sure you try it before you add these. It also says to put everything in a blender.....cleaning a blender sounded like too much work for me. So I put it all in a sauce pan and heat it, I think it mixes the ingredients together better(because it melts the peanut butter) that and it cooks the onions a bit (Do I ever follow directions? I think not....even ask my mother, lol). It also tends to spoon over the noodles better.....speaking of, I didn't use spirals either....just whate...

I've continued to work on the skirt that I mentioned a couple days ago, and here is my progress so far: It doesn't look like much because I haven't tucked in my ends. I figured that I would just do it all at once. I am probably a little over a quarter of the way done. The pattern I am using is the short strips are 49 stitches, and the long ones are 63. I just did it at random and what looked good. I am not sure on the number of strips I am going to have to make either. I will just try it on to see what works. I also made some snack food. I am not sure what they are called, but they are basically ranch oyster crackers. Here's the recipe: 1 bag of oyster crackers 1 packet of Ranch dressing seasoning 1/2 c. oil 2 T. Dill Mix oil, dill, and Ranch packet. Add to oyster crackers. Mix until crackers are covered. There will still be oil in the bottom of the bowl so you will have to mix it every 10 minutes or so until when you mix it, the crackers aren't shiny. E...